Oversimplifying the Job Search

Jessie and All People Lovers Everywhere,

Americans have been taught for many years that we are the rugged individuals.  We lift ourselves up by our own boot straps.  While on the one hand we talk about cooperation and social interaction, we actually are taught to worship our strongmen, our captains of industry, our brave generals.  And at another level we are conditioned to believe that asking for help is a sign of weakness.  Many of our elderly clients wrestle with this problem.  They have spent their lives as "doers", and have believed that needing help is a sign of weakness. 

Naturally in this confused state of mind, we blame the individual for their failures. 

But it is even worse for those of us in minority groups.  We are confronted daily by the fact that we have brought about our own failure.  In fact, we can't stand to have one of our fellow sufferers succeed because it points out once again that we have failed, just by being born blind.  So we pull them back down. 

We need to begin to celebrate our individual successes.  But we also need to begin to celebrate our collective successes.  We need to begin offering support rather than criticism. 

Okay, I'll go back to reading Alice in Wonderland. 

 

Curious Carl